0.33 l bottle from 'drankgigant.de', bottled in December 2019. Clear, dark amber with a medium large, frothy, stable, off-white head. Sweetish, quite fruity, slightly resiny aroma of red fruits, strawberry jam, some pine and a touch of caramel. Quite sweet, malty, moderately bitter, rather fruity and slightly resiny taste of strawberry jam, red fruits, some pine and a touch of caramel, followed by a medium long, gently bitter, slightly resiny finish. Medium to full body, smooth, slightly creamy and moderately effervescent mouthfeel, soft carbonation. My second amber beer tonight, but with much more punch than De Koninck has to offer. Maybe too sweet for an IPA but nevertheless nicely fruity and hoppy. Solid Bird/Jopen quality again.

Donkerbruin bier met mooie schuimkraag. Smaak is licht bitter en licht zoet met iets van chocolade, karamel en ietwat rook. Het herfstfruit niet kunnen ontdekken maar desondanks een goed bier.

Bottle. Blonde. Oily grassy hops, muscat grapes and citrus in The aroma. Thin and watery, but dry and with a firm grassy hopbitterness. Hint of citrus. Solid non alcohol beer.

Bottle from Beerwulf. Pours a murky mahogany colour with a thin soapy looking off-white head. Aromas of dry dark fruits and caramel. Taste is more dark fruits, caramel and added roasty notes and nuts. Medium bodied, smooth slightly oily mouthfeel and a dark fruity and roasty finish. One of the better Dutch bocks i have tried. Nice one

With Holland being in spring Bock mood, a tradition dating back to the late twentieth century that runs parallel with the German Maibocks, it seems logical to compare a few - only to find that they, too, have apparently diverged into a whole range of flavours meanwhile (since the new Dutch craft beer boom), just like the Dutch autumn Bocks have. This is Bird's contribution to this, in all, relatively young tradition, with the name of the beer being a play on the Dutch name for the eagle-owl. Medium thick and quickly breaking, off-white, mousy, irregularly lacing, opening and eventually all but disappearing head on a cloudy apricot blonde beer with beige hue. Aroma of honey, white bread, freshly cut sweet apples, pear juice, hints of pineapple, industrial sweet cider, pumice, homemade lemonade, dried bitter weeds. Sweet onset, fruity side notes reminiscent of sweet apple, ripe pear, pineapple and perhaps a dash of banana, medium carbonated, with a slight sourish edge (orange-like) and supple, slender mouthfeel. Minerally accents and ongoing sweet 'yellow' fruitiness accompany a slick pale malt sweetness with a layer of honeyish residual sugar on top, but the sweetness does get counterbalanced in the very end, when a floral, slightly peppery and medium long hop bitterness comes in, even offering a brief whiff of orange juice or mandarin retronasally. Very easily drinkable, uncomplicated and sweet, like any more 'traditional' Dutch lentebok; the hops do act out a tad more bitterness than would be the case in the more established and mass-marketed examples by larger breweries, which is a plus in my book. Otherwise a textbook example of the style, albeit in a noticeably 'artisanal' way. No complaints here, as usual with Bird's beers.

Prima te drinken 0,3%'er.

Fles 33cl thuis. Zacht, noot, caramel, wat rood fruit, nadronk blijft lang hangen, heel licht fizzy, chocoladetonen, cappuccino, droog. Prima. (22-5-2020).

Bird's contribution to the yearly Dutch Bock season, longneck bottle bought online. This is not the right time of the year for this one, I know, I should probably have their spring beer instead (also waiting in my collection), but it's still good until August and I was in the mood for a malty beer, so here I go. Very slow gusher - some foam appearing on top of the bottle neck seconds after opening, but no cleaning issues or anything like that. Medium thick, irregularly membrane-lacing, small-bubbled, pale yellowish beige, opening but otherwise well-retaining head, hazy mahogany brown robe with ruddy, almost amberish hue. Aroma of hard caramel candy, crumbled cookies or cookie dough, ginger powder, dried fig, caramelized yellow raisins, red apple, raw cinnamon, brown bread crust, sugared tea, hints of autumn leaves, candied cherries, poached egg yolk, beef stock, fresh bay leaf, white pepper. Crisp onset - a tad too crisp for a Dutch bok, perhaps - with fruity notes of fig, pear, medlar and red apple, but all in a 'dried', sedate way; sweet with a sourish edge, accentuated by all too lively, minerally carbonation, which nevertheless concurs with this particular style's normal profile. Slick caramelly malt sweet body with dry cookie- and walnut-like aspects, smooth oats and background rye 'spiciness', shifting to more toasted bitterness towards the end, where a herbal, tea-like but effectively bittering hoppiness shows up, not dominating, but reinforcing the toasty bitter aspect of the malts. Meanwhile this rounded caramelly sweetishness also continues, adorned with spicy notes reminiscent of clove, cinnamon and perhaps very vague nutmeg. Quite dryish, herbal, slightly earthy finish, but the caramelliness of the malts gets the last word, as it ought to be in a Dutch bokbier. Classically conceived, perhaps even a bit more so than I was expecting from the Bird brewery, but decent, tasty and well-balanced as usual (and a proper tribute to the humble jackdaw, a bird species I've watched with interest since my childhood); bears a characterful bitterness in its tail, which comes out a bit more pronounced than is traditionally the case in this genre, almost reminiscent of American style brown ale in combination with the caramel cookie-like maltiness. In all, a fine Dutch bokbier for sure, enjoyed it even with hot and sunny spring days ahead. Makes me curious for that spring beer of theirs, too.

Prima non alc iepaatje hoor. Lekker fris